Bill Clinton: Romney taxes fair game

7/13/12 8:48 AM EDT

The former president has mostly made news this campaign season for his off-message moments, but this morning he amplified the Obama camp's line on Mitt Romney's personal finances, Mackenzie Weinger reports:

“Oh, yes I do. I think, for one thing, it’s just as relevant as the going over my record as governor got when I ran for president,” Clinton said. ... But he added that Romney’s decision not to release his tax returns, unlike other former candidates, “perplexed” him. “That struck me as a little odd,” Clinton said.

And the American public “ought to know” about Romney’s overseas accounts, Clinton said.

“The voters can make up their own minds about whether they think it’s a good thing for a person who wants to be president to minimize his own tax liability,” Clinton said.

The comments come as Romney's campaign continues to use footage of Hillary Clinton denouncing Obama for 2008-vintage attacks. In a press release this morning, the Romney campaign quoted Bill Clinton's jab at Obama from that primary season: "This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen."